No. 20 OU Faces Road Test at No. 17 WVU

^20/24 Oklahoma

^17/16 WEST VIRGINIA

january 8 | 3 p.m. (CT) | MORGANTOWN, W. VA.

Notes

SUNDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 20/24 Oklahoma (12-3, 3-0 Big 12) looks to pick up its second consecutive win over a ranked team as the Sooners travel to No. 17/16 West Virginia (13-2, 1-2 Big 12) Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. A win for the Sooners would mark their first-ever win in Morgantown. The Mountaineers enter Sunday's game after dropping back-to-back games at Kansas State last Sunday and to No. 2 Baylor at home on Wednesday.

ON THE AIR

Sunday's game will air live nationally on Fox Sports 1 with Ron Thulin and Brenda VanLengen announcing. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Brian Brinkley calling the action.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Oklahoma looks for its first road win at West Virginia in series history as the Sooners travel to Morgantown, W. Va. for a
Sunday afternoon matchup with the Mountaineers. Since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 prior to the 2012-13 season, the series is tied at 5-5 between the two programs.

• Sunday's game features two of the nation's best shot-blocking teams. OU ranks sixth in the country with 94 blocks, while West Virginia is second with 108 rejections this year. OU freshman center Nancy Mulkey is 17th nationally in blocked shots (36) and ranks second in the Big 12 with 2.4 blocked shots per game. Junior center Vionise Pierre-Louis is seventh in the league with 1.9 blocks per game and has logged 27th blocked shots (59th in Division I).

• A win would give the Sooners back-to-back wins over AP top 25 teams in consecutive games for the first since OU defeated then No. 7 Notre Dame (Sweet 16) and No. 19 Kentucky (Elite Eight) in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. It would also mark the first time OU has defeated two straight ranked Big 12 foes in consecutive games since beating No. 15 Kansas State and No. 16 Oklahoma State in 2008. When ranked in the AP poll, OU is 79-79 against top 25 opponents under head coach Sherri Coale.

• Oklahoma also has scored 80-plus points in three straight Big 12 games for the first time since the 2007-08 season. In Big 12 play, the Sooners lead the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.449) and assists (19.3 per game).

• OU is the one of two teams in the nation to rank in the top 25 nationally in blocked shots and steals. The Sooners are sixth in blocked shots (94) and 22nd in steals (162). OU also leads the Big 12 and ranks 38th in the Division I with 11.3 steals per game. The Sooners are third in the league and 13th nationally with 6.4 blocks a contest.

GAME 15 RECAP: K-STATE

• No. 20/24 Oklahoma secured an 85-80 overtime victory in a top-25 matchup against No. 25/RV Kansas State on Wednesday. With the Sooners trailing by three with 20 seconds left, Gabbi Ortiz drained a clutch 3-pointer to tie the contest at 67-67 and force overtime. It was OU's first win in OT over a ranked team since 2010 versus Notre Dame.

• OU went on to outscore K-State by a 18-13 mark in the extra frame to snag the win and move to 3-0 in Big 12 play. Vionise Pierre-Louis and Maddie Manning combined for 12 of OU's 18 overtime points with seven and five, respectively, as the Sooners made six of their seven shot attempts in the period, while hitting 5-of-7 at the free throw line to seal the win.

• Manning paced OU with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the second double-double of her career, one of four Sooners to post double-digit scoring performances against the Wildcats. Pierre-Louis contributed 17 points and six rebounds off the bench, while Ortiz finished with 16 points and Gioya Carter added 12.

• Ortiz made all four of her 3-point attempts, which ties for the most makes without a miss in the Coale era. Manning, Pierre-Louis and senior T'ona Edwards each tallied a team-high four assists. OU set a season-high with 22 assists.

PREVIEWING WEST VIRGINIA

• West Virginia, who has lost back-to-back Big 12 games, enters Sunday's game with a 13-2 overall record and 1-2 in league play. The Mountaineers rank second in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .321 clip. West Virginia is shooting .469 from the field (ranks third in the Big 12), .341 from deep (third) and .685 from the free throw line (fifth). The Mountaineers average 79.6 points per game (third), while holding foes to just 54.5 points a contest (second). West Virginia is second nationally with 7.2 blocks per game.

• Sophomore guard Tynice Martin leads a trio of Mountaineers who average double figures scoring. The sophomore is averaging 17.9 points (fourth in the Big 12), 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game (second) while shooting .421 from the floor, .315 from deep and .770 at the charity stripe. Junior forward Teana Muldrow is averaging 14.5 points and a team-high 7.5 boards per game (ninth in the Big 12. Senior center Lanay Montgomery pours in 11.7 points and ranks fifth nationally with 2.5 blocks per contest.

• Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Kristina King is averaging 10.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game (15th in the Big 12). King has scored in double figures in seven straight games off the bench.

• West Virginia head coach Mike Carey is 335-173 in his 16 seasons with the Mountaineers. Carey holds a 623-275 all-time record in 29 seasons as a collegiate head coach. He is 5-5 versus the Sooners during his career.

Junior guard Gabbi Ortiz hit the game-tying 3-pointer versus Kansas State and finished with 16 points Wednesday night.

FRESH START

• Since the start of Big 12 play, the Sooners have seen their production from 3-point range increase dramatically. OU ranks first in the league with a .449 (22-for-49) 3-point shooting percentage. In non-conference play, OU posted .314 clip from beyond the arc. Gabbi Ortiz is second in the league from deep with a .625 3-point shooting percentage.

• The Sooners have scored 80-plus points in three straight Big 12 games for the first time since the 2007-08 season. OU leads the Big 12 in conference play in assists per game (19.3), while ranking second in scoring (85.3), scoring margin (+16.7) and third in field goal percentage (.460). Defensively against Big 12 foes, the Sooners are first with 29 blocked shots (9.3 per game) and third in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .349 mark.

QUICK HITS

• OU's 18 points, six made field goals and .857 field goal percentage in overtime Wednesday night against Kansas State all set Coale era records. The win marked OU's first OT victory over a top-25 opponent since defeating Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament on March 28, 2010 in the Sweet 16.

• In its first two Big 12 games of the season, the Sooners picked up double-digit block totals, the first time they accomplished that feat in the Sherri Coale era. OU finished with 11 blocks against both Kansas and TCU. OU's 22 combined blocks over the two-game stretch are the most rejections by the Sooners in as many games since the 2006-07 season. In the 2007 Big 12 Tournament, OU recorded 23 blocks in two consecutive games (13, Texas, March 7, 2007; 8, vs. Baylor, March 8, 2007).

• Both Chelsea Dungee and Nancy Mulkey started OU's Big 12 opener at Kansas -- the first time since the 2002-03 season that two freshmen made starts in OU's conference opener. The last time a pair of freshmen started for OU to begin league play came on Jan. 11, 2003 at Nebraska when Laura Andrews and Chelsi Welch were in OU's starting five.

• Maddie Manning's 10 steals against Portland State on Dec. 21 rank as the most by a Division I player in a single game this season and the most by an OU player in one game since 1996.

• Through 15 games, the Sooners have doubled their block total from this time last season. OU has logged 94 blocks (6.3 per game) to begin the season, which ranks sixth in Division I. The Sooners finished 136th in the nation a year ago with 112 blocked shots (3.4 per game). At this point last season, OU had just 46 blocks (3.1 blocks per game).

• The Sooners have been ranked in the AP Poll for 31 consecutive weeks (tied for the 11th-longest active streak in the country). OU has been ranked in the AP poll 251 times under Sherri Coale.

• Peyton Little needs 22 points to become the 32nd Sooner to score 1,000 points at Oklahoma.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma continues its two-game road swing at Iowa State on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT inside Hilton Coliseum. Last year in Ames, OU used a second-half surge to knock off the Cyclones, 77-71, on Jan. 30, 2016.

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